About the Mayor

The New Jersey Organ and Tissue Sharing Network (The Sharing Network), recently lauded Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler for his substantial efforts to increase organ/tissue donor awareness in the minority communities of Jersey City and Northern New Jersey. Mayor Schundler was the first Garden State mayor to sign The Sharing Network’s Organ Donation Registry.

The mayor signed the registry during a ceremony earlier this year in which he proclaimed “Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week” in Jersey City. Additionally, Mayor Schundler also distributed donor registry cards and literature to Jersey City municipal employees, as well as to Jersey City residence.

Scottsdale Mayor Sam Kathryn Campana has been named a member of the National Drought Policy Commission by President Clinton. In that capacity, she will serve as the U.S. Conference of Mayors representative on the Commission.

Mayor Campana, elected in 1996, served as Scottsdale City Council member from 1986 to 1994. The Commission is to provide advice and recommendation on the creation of an integrated, coordinated federal policy designed to prepare and respond to serious drought emergencies.

Philadelphia Mayor Edward Rendell spoke at a memorial service October 21 for famed national basketball star Wilt Chamberlain. Chamberlain, 63, died in Los Angeles October 12. Said Mayor Rendell, “Wilt never left Philadelphia even when he was geographically far away.”

Chamberlain, a star high school player in Philadelphia, played 14 seasons with the National Basketball Association.

Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage (NJ) opened the doors on October 21 to a new Jersey Gardens Mall. A former municipal landfill dormant for decades, Jersey Gardens is an ambitious project, bringing in an estimated 5,000 new jobs and $6.5 million in new tax dollars.

Mayor Bollwage said the opening was one of the proudest days of his mayoral career, and was one of the cornerstones of Elizabeth’s rebirth.

Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke, accompanied by Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley and Knoxville Mayor Victor Ashe, were in Havana, Cuba, sharing experiences on renovation of historic districts with Cuban officials in early October.

The trip was mayor Schmoke’s third to Cuba since 1998 as all three mayors participated in an historic preservation round table. The delegation was supported by the Washington-based Center for International Policy which has been involved with policy toward Cuba for a number of years. Cuban officials are seeking ways to preserve what one termed “Havana’s decaying architectural gems” and to restore historic districts in Cuba’s capital city.

San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr. appeared on the television show Regis and Kathy Lee on October 26 as he welcomed the show to his city. The mayor was congratulated for the impressive restoration of historic City Hall.